Detection of hearing problems in Aboriginal and Torres strait islander children: a comparison between clinician-administered and self-administrated hearing tests. (2nd June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mealings, Kiri; Harkus, Samantha; Flesher, Brooke; Meyer, Alea; Chung, King; Dillon, Harvey
• Is Part Of: International journal of audiology. Volume 59:Number 6(2020)
• Page Start: 455
• Page End: 463
• Publication Date: 2020-06-02
• Subjects: Self-administered hearing tests -- automatic audiometry -- spatial processing disorder -- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children; Audiology -- Periodicals; Hearing disorders -- Periodicals; Deafness -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Hearing Disorders -- Periodicals; Hearing -- Periodicals; 617.8
• DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2020.1718781
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1499-2027

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: This study evaluated the agreement of self-administered tests with clinician-administered tests in detecting hearing loss and speech-in-noise deficits in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children. Design: Children completed clinician-administered audiometry, self-administered automatic audiometry (AutoAud), clinician-administered Listening in Spatialised Noise – Sentences test and self-administered tablet-based hearing game Sound Scouts. Comparisons were made between tests to determine the agreement of the self-administered tests with clinician-administered tests in detecting hearing loss and speech-in-noise deficits. Study sample: Two hundred and ninety seven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4–14 years from three schools. Results: Acceptable threshold differences of ≤5 dB between AutoAud and manual audiometry hearing thresholds were found for 88% of thresholds, with a greater agreement for older than for younger children. Consistent pass/fail results on the Sound Scouts speech-in-quiet measure and manual audiometry were found for 81% of children. Consistent pass/fail results on the Sound Scouts speech-in-noise measure and LiSN-S high-cue condition were found for 73% of children. Conclusions: This study shows good potential in using self-administered applications as initial tests for hearing problems in children. These tools may be especially valuable for children in remote locations and those from low socio-economic backgrounds who may not have easy access to healthcare.